News

Academics from our BRC highlighted Nottingham’s leading-edge translational research at a national conference attended by leading researchers, physicians and emerging academic talent.

The APAM 2026 Conference, organised by the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland (AOPGBI), was held on the University of Birmingham campus from May 14-15. The event proved to be a good opportunity for researchers from Nottingham, along with other Midlands-based NIHR BRCs, to present their innovative work.

The annual APAM conference, first held over a century ago, is a significant event in the annual calendar for physicians and researchers, and an opportunity for early career researchers to present posters to their peers.

Professor Ian Hall, Director of the NIHR Nottingham BRC, chaired a session on the Friday morning which featured three BRC researchers from different themes.

Professor Hall is regional champion for the Academy of Medical Sciences, and the conference was also attended by representatives from other BRCs in Leicester and Birmingham. He chaired a symposium addressing translational insights into complex diseases, as well as presenting on genes, environment, and COPD risk.

This symposium offered perspectives from Professor Hall’s work in the UK and Nepal, a long-term project he has been working with Nepalese physicians and researchers to improve the population’s lung health.

• Professor Sube Banerjee from Nottingham BRC also presented a talk entitled “the drugs don’t work”, looking at neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia and how patients with this degenerative disease can be treated
  • Professor Guru Aithal, Deputy Director of the BRC, director designate and Co-lead of the GI & Liver research theme, presented on “accessing the inaccessible” which looked at the use of technology to treat diseases such as bile duct cancer, with a “snake robot” device which is under development
  • Dr Amanda Goodwin, NIHR Clinical Lecturer and a member of the BRC Respiratory Theme, spoke about Mechanisms and novel approaches in ILD (Interstitial Lung Disease)

The conference agenda also included opportunities for early career researchers to highlight their work, including an abstract poster competition.